Regaining His Freedom
by AllIsButToys
Summary: This is just a short story based around Sirius Black when he was in Hogwarts and later in Azkaban.


**Authors Note: **This is just a short story based around Sirius Black when he was in Hogwarts and later in Azkaban. Enjoy.

**Copyright: **If you recognise it, I don't own it.

**Regaining His Freedom**

The black haired boy wrenched the door shut behind him. The echoes of his mother's screeching still floating up the stairs after him and the muscles of his body still aching. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

His father had performed an unforgivable curse on him.

He knew his parents were pureblood maniacs but he had never imagined that they would go this far. He sunk onto his bed, vision still swimming with pain and closed his eyes.

*

'But father why?' He couldn't understand why he had just been told he was no longer allowed to see his three best friends any more.

'Because, I said so and you will obey me.'

'That's not good enough.' His father's eyes flashed dangerously but he still replied.

'Well I don't like that fat boy and there's something funny about that thin one but Potter? He's a bloodtraitor and not for you to be associating with, boy.'

The young man fumed. He was sixteen years old, he wasn't about to take orders, he couldn't wait to get out of this house. His parents were smothering him with their prejudiced, outdated views. Especially his father, his mother just followed his lead, but he wasn't finished yet.

'He's getting his family a reputation, making friends with mudbloods, no good will come of it, I tell you. He'll meet a sticky end one day soon, that Potter boy.'

The teenager slipped back into his well practised and effective distraction tactic of a slow mantra of breathing in and out.

'Dishonouring his family like that, as if it wasn't bad enough that his father married the daughter of a mudblood. They're meant to be a high standing old family.'

'Quite, right it's shameful.' His mother joined with his father in their criticism of the Potters. He closed his eyes, trying to go back to the last time he saw his friends, telling him not to lose his temper, that they were his family and that they loved him deep down. He hadn't believed it then and he believed it even less now. The thought of not being able to be friends with the three of them was like a physical blow.

'Oh, you don't know the half of it.' A quiet voice sounded from the other end of the dinner table. 'Tell them what the rumours are, brother, what they're saying about your friend at school.'

'If you know what's good for you…' He saw the anger in his father's eyes as he threatened his younger brother and trailed off.

'What rumours?'

'They say…'

'I asked your brother.'

He looked up at his father with defiance in his eyes; he couldn't hide the truth from him now, even if it wasn't really his secret to tell. 'He's a werewolf.'

His mother fainted.

His brother smiled sardonically as their father just stared at him.

'After everything we taught you about your family, what is expected of you, your social status!' His father's face was purple with rage. 'It was enough when we found out you were in _Gryffindor_,' he spat the word out like it burned his mouth, 'but friends with a halfbreed? It's unacceptable! DO YOU HEAR ME?'

The boy jumped and looked up from his empty plate. The breathing was no longer helping. 'Yes, I hear you. But I'm not listening to this crap any longer.' He shoved his chair back. 'I tried being your perfect son, I tried being friends with people you thought were acceptable but guess what, they didn't want anything to do with a Gryffindor! Maybe I don't want to live up to your expectations any longer, maybe I've had enough. So what if my best friend has a medical condition, it's nothing to do with _you_. And I happen to agree with James about muggleborns.'

'It has everything to do with me if you are ruining the family name!' He yelled back.

'That's all you care about isn't it? You want Voldemort to win don't you? Just so that you can feel like you're better than muggleborns!' He paused for breath. 'You're pathetic.' He said a little more quietly.

His father stared at him in what was evident shock and anger. 'CRUCIO!'

The boy fell to the floor, writhing in pain. After a few seconds the pain stopped, leaving muscle fatigue and a migraine in its place.

'You will say no more on this, go to your room,' His father commanded, as if the matter was closed. He picked himself up and staggered up the stairs to his mother's frantic wailing that he was a failure and a disappointment.

*

And so here he was. Hurt both physically and emotionally. Maybe there was a part of him, just a small part that had really wanted to believe that his parents loved him. Now he knew.

Regulus had always been the golden child, the perfect son. He was just a blip in their plan for the perfect pureblood family, the embarrassment. He was going to get out of here someday, but he had been telling himself the same thing for the last five years. He always waited, always put it off, hoping to please his parents somehow so they would love him but he knew now that was impossible. They would never accept that he didn't care about blood. He hadn't even had the courage to tell them that he wanted to fight in the war to defeat Voldemort.

Over the years he had become numb to their criticism but not now, if he had to choose between his friends and the people who claimed to be his family, he knew there was no choice.

He grabbed his trunk form under the bed.

*

Ten minutes later the boy dragged the magically lightened trunk down the stairs, not bothering to avoid banging it off the walls as he went. He was past caring.

'Where do you think you're going?' His father appeared behind him as he opened the front door. If this house was the boy's prison then this was the jailer, but he was escaping tonight and nothing was going to stop him.

'The Potters' house. Think you can stand the shame?' He had his wand out, he no longer trusted his father not to try and hex him.

'If you step out that door you are no longer a part of this family!' His face was still purple and his son had no doubt that he meant this. His mother and younger brother watched from the sidelines. His mother looked shocked and angry but his brother had caused this chaos and was enjoying every minute of it.

'Family? Last time I checked you didn't know the meaning of the word.' He stepped out of the door and swung it shut behind him. It hadn't even closed before he disapparted.

*

James smiled as he opened the door for his best friend. From the look on his face he didn't need to ask what had happened, it had been a long time coming. He showed him to the guest bedroom in silence.

The older boy turned to go but hesitated. 'You did the right thing Padfoot.' The other boy simply nodded as he left.

The black haired teenager sat in the unfamiliar room and ran a hand through his hair. He felt more at home with James in the last two minutes of entering the house than he ever had with his family. 'I'm finally free.'

*

A black haired man snapped out of his memories over fifteen years later. It had been twelve years since he had been free.

He had lost everything. His friends, his innocence, his freedom.

But despite all this he found release in reliving the times when he was happy, when people didn't believe he was a murderer and a traitor. The times when he was free.

He clutched the sheet of newspaper closer to his chest. Once again, he had put off the inevitable. He wasn't numb any longer, James' son was in trouble.

For the second time in his life Sirius Black was regaining his freedom.


End file.
